Three Strikes Law Research Paper

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The Three- Strike Law The Three-Strikes Law was created 1994; California voters enacted the “Three Strikes and You're Out” law in response to the tragic murders of Kimberly Reynolds and Polly Klaas. The law forced a life sentence for basically any crime, no matter how inconsequential it was. If the defendant had two previous convictions for any crimes defined as severe or violent by the California Penal Code, they would be classified under the Three-Strike Law. The fundamental nature of the Three-Strike Law was to require anyone who was convicted of any new criminal felony acts, having suffered one prior conviction of a serious offense, to be sentenced to state prison for twice the term that was provided for the crime. If the defendant was convicted of any felony with two or more previous strikes, the regulation mandated a state prison term of at least 25 years to life for sentencing. The Three-Strikes law sentencing scheme was intended to keep child molesters, murders, rapists, sex offenses, robbery, and any offense punishable by 10 years, behind bars.…show more content…
The Three Strikes Project exclusively represents these individuals. Project clients that have been given life sentences for petty offenses including; stealing food, to keep from going hungry, breaking into a home for a shower and new change of clothes, and possessing less than a gram of narcotics. Over 45 percent of inmates serving life sentences under the Three Strikes law are African American. The Three Strikes law is also applied disproportionately against mentally ill and physically disabled defendants. California's State Auditor estimates that the Three Strikes law

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